Corporate Sins in Organizations ~ Corporate Governance

There are three attributes frequently found among directors and senior managers which are considered as corporate sins: sloth, greed and fear. These sins are responsible for an overwhelming majority of cases of poor governance.

Sloth is unwillingness to take risks and initiatives. It makes a manager let things be and not to make any effort to bring about a change. It results in a loss of flair and enterprise that converts the management into bureaucracy. Sloth among managers means stakeholders interests are not served properly as their investment (in money or efforts) does not produce good results. Companies owned and run by government present a classical example of consequences of sloth.

Greed :

Greed is the desire of managers to get the best for themselves, even at the expense of others. This leads to dishonesty, taking short term decisions to temporarily boost profits in order to increase one’s own bonuses. This also results in unauthorized use of company property for personal benefit, and internal intrigues that bring about erosion of harmony among managers.

Fear :

Fear is a tendency to refrain from doing anything so as not to displease a boss, or an investor. Fear is the principal reason why some companies do not progress as managers refrain from taking any initiative or daring decision. The difference between fear and sloth is that the former refers to an attitude of risk aversion while the latter indicates simple laziness.